Director’s Message: Dr. Sharon Austin
Spring 20133
Tradition and Transformation
UF Intersections African American Studies Program
103 Walker Hall PO Box 118120 Gainesville, FL 32611
Phone: (352) 392-5724 Fax: (352) 294-0007
Email: [email protected]
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Turlington Hall P.O Box 117300 Gainesville FL 32611 P: 352.392.0780 F: 352.392.3584
Inside this issue:
Director’s Message 1
Major Requirements 2
Faculty Profile 3
Faculty Profile 4
Faculty Profile 5
Dr. Asa Hilliard 6
Wrap-up of Events 7
Alumni Spotlight 8
Wrap-up of Events 9
Wrap-up of Events 10
New IBC Director 11
Summer 2013 Schedule 12
Fall 2013 Schedule 13
Opportunity Corner 14
Support AFAM 15
Hello. My name is Dr. Sharon Aus-
tin and I would like to welcome you
to the spring 2013 edition of the
African American Studies Program
newsletter. We have included infor-
mation in this issue about the many
programs and activities we have been
involved in this semester. We are
also updating our African American
Studies website to include informa-
tion about the major, the minor,
student internships, scholarships, and
careers for African American Studies
graduates among other things. First,
we are pleased to announce that
undergraduate students can now
declare a major in African American
Studies! We also still offer the Afri-
can American Studies minor. The
major requires 30 hours of African
American (AFA) coursework. Stu-
dents must take 12 hours of core
courses which include AFA 2000
Introduction to African American
Studies, AFA 3110 Key Issues in
African American and Black Atlantic
Though, AFA 4936 Senior Seminar
Part I and AFA 4937 Senior Seminar
Part II. They must also take 15 addi-
tional hours of AFA coursework at
the 3000 or 4000-level. Second,
undergraduate students will soon be
able to receive 3 hours of credit for
AFA 4940 The African American
Studies Internship if they receive an
approval of their internship from an
AFA faculty member and from me as
director of the program. Students
must fill out a form in which they
describe their internship and get the
necessary signatures. Our new web-
site also includes several examples of
the types of internships African
American Studies students can apply
for. I also strongly encourage you to
seek the assistance of the UF Career
Resource Center in finding an intern-
ship. Third, three of our faculty
members (Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn,
Dr. Zoharah Simmons, and I) are
involved in a project entitled
“Building a Civil Rights Monu-
ment/Memorial at the University
of Florida.” Recently, it was se-
lected as a finalist for a Catalyst
Grant from the Office of the Pro-
vost. If it receives the grant, Dr.
Paul Ortiz of the Samuel Proctor
Oral History Program (SPOHP)
and an advisory board composed
of AFA faculty members, African
American Studies Librarian Jana
Ronan, Professor Carl Van Ness
(University Historian for Smathers
Library) and Professor Charlie
Hailey (School of Design, Con-
struction and Planning) will lead
discussions of the civil rights
movement with the hope that even-
tually a civil rights memorial or
monument will be erected on cam-
pus. Fourth, the newsletter dis-
cusses some of the activities our
program has either sponsored or co
-sponsored such as the “Integration
of the University of Florida and the
Challenges that Remain” panel that
took place during the Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Celebration Week
in January as well as the Dr.
Ronald Foreman Lecture by Dr.
Marc Lamont Hill and the
“Education and Identity of African
American Males” Conference that
took place in February. We also
co-sponsored a lecture by Dr. Mi-
chael Eric Dyson, the “Hats Off
to Women” Awards dinner, the
James E. Scott Leadership Con-
ference, and the 41st Annual
African Student Union Showcase
“The Awakening: Past Glory to
New Beginnings.” Fifth, I want
to congratulate our faculty for
their many successes that are
detailed in the Faculty Profiles
section and our one of our
alumni Ms. Brittany McCants
who is a graduate of UF and the
Howard University Law School.
Currently, she is an attorney in
New York City. Her career ac-
complishments demonstrate one
of the many career options for
students of African American
Studies. Finally, during the sum-
mer and fall 2013 semesters, we
will be expanding our course
offerings. Mr. Vincent Ade-
jumo, a doctoral student in politi-
cal science, will teach the first
online AFA course when he
teaches the AFA 2000 Introduc-
tion to African American Studies
course. He will also offer it
online during the fall semester.
Four other doctoral students will
also teach AFA courses with the
assistance of a faculty mentor –
Anthropology student Justin
Dunnavant (Pan-Africanism),
Anthropology student Karen
McIlvoy (Archaeology of Afri-
can American Life), Health Ser-
vices Research, Management,
and Policy Student Kevin Jen-
kins (Race, Law, and Public
Health), and Anthropology stu-
dent Justin Hosbey (Race &
Global Cities). If you would like
to receive more information
about the major, the minor, the
internship, or any other aspect of
the program, please contact me at
[email protected] or 273-3060.
Volume 6, Issue 1
Dr. Sharon Austin, Director
of the African American
Studies Program
Any student entering UF as a freshman or transfer student will be able to declare African American Studies as
their major. In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies, students must com-
plete 30 credit hours of AFA course and fulfill all of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. For more information on these requirements, see:
https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/liberalarts/school_pages/degrees.aspx.
Congrats to African American Studies Minor’s Breanne Palmer and Caitlin
Edwards for their induction into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious
academic honor society. Election to the Society recognizes the high quality
and liberal breadth of Breanne and Caitlin’s scholastic achievements. The
University of Florida is one of only six institutions in Florida, and one of 284
throughout the US, which meet the Society’s criteria of academic excellence
and can elect students into Phi Beta Kappa. Nationally, only one of every
hundred students earning degrees from colleges of arts and sciences is elected
to PBK.
African American Studies Major Information & Requirements
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society Inductees
Page 2 UF Intersections
The following courses are required to
fulfill the 30-hour requirement. Students
maintain a cumulative UF GPA of 2.0
and earn the grade of C or better in:
AFA 2000 Introduction to African
American Studies AFA 3110 Key Issues in African Ameri-
can & Black Atlantic Thought
AFA 4936 Integrative Senior Seminar
AFA 4937 Integrative Senior Seminar
3 credits of applied, experiential, or re-
search methods. Can be statistics, ser-
vice-learning, field research, or qualita-
tive research methods (inside or outside
of AFA).
15 credits must be obtained from AFA
courses at the 3000 level or higher.
(Pictured from left to right) Dr. Joe Glover, Provost; Dr. Sharon Aus-
tin, African American studies Program Director and Dr. Bernard
Mair, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Affairs at faculty Senate
meeting in February 2013.
Ms. Breanne Palmer
Dr. Gwendolyn Zoharah Sim-
mons, Senior Lecturer in Afri-
can American Studies and Re-
ligion and affiliated faculty in
the Women Studies Department
at the University of Florida's
College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences has had an illustrious
career that has spanned several
decades. Currently, Dr. Sim-
mons has been working on
several projects and served on
numerous panels this school
year at UF and around the
country. She was featured in the
production of Firelight Media's
documentary film, "Freedom
Summer", which is about the
1964 Mississippi Freedom
Summer. The film will air in
June of 2014, the 50th Anniver-
sary of Freedom Summer as a
part of PBS’s The American
Experience series. Dr. Simmons
was tapped for this project be-
cause she was part of the Free-
dom Summer of 1964, serving
as Project Director in Laurel,
Mississippi, organizing black
people to secure the vote and
helping to build freedom
schools and libraries in black
communities in Mississippi. I
recently spoke with Dr. Sim-
mons about her experience
during the 1964 Freedom Sum-
mer and the impact that it has
even to this day on American
history. “How did the idea of
Freedom Summer come
about?” “The idea of Freedom
Summer came from Robert
Moses who was a Field Secre-
tary in the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee
(SNCC) and later went on to
become co-director over the
Council of Federated Organiza-
tions (COFO), which directed
Mississippi Freedom Summer.
This project was intended to put
the nation’s eyes on Mississippi
with the purpose of ending the
laws that disenfranchised blacks
and enabled violence against
those blacks who attempted to
vote. The project also was de-
signed to register black citizens
to vote in the face of this vio-
lence, establish the “Freedom
Schools” as an alternative to
Mississippi's totally segregated
and underfunded school system,
and establish the Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party.” I
then asked Dr. Simmons how
SNCC and SCLC collaborated
during the Freedom Summer.
“The SNCC style for orga-
nizing was traditionally
very different from the
SCLC’s. SNCC ‘s style
was to develop at the base
level to build a grassroots
movement while SCLC’s
style was more grandiose
with big press conferences
and marches to bring to
light specific events. Nev-
ertheless, SNCC, CORE,
the NAACP and SCLC
collaborated under the
COFO umbrella and all of
the various groups got
along quite well” In the last
question, I asked Dr. Sim-
mons about the impact of
the Freedom Summer ’64
project and her general
thoughts on the progress of
Civil Rights. “The after-
math of SNCC was the
passage of the Voter’s
Rights Act of 1965 which
immediately impacted ar-
eas in Mississippi such as
Laurel where I was as-
signed. The 1965’s Voting
Rights Act specifically
impacted these areas by
protecting the voting rights
of those citizens and bring-
ing to light the continued
struggle for suffrage, even
after 1965.” Dr. Simmons
went on to state that for the
future, she hopes that the
grassroots activism that
SNCC displayed during the
Freedom Summer of 1964
is not forgotten and it is her
hope that present and future
generations continue to
mobilize at the grassroots
level to effect change. In
addition to teaching Afri-
can American Religions
and Race Religion/
Rebellion this semester, Dr.
Simmons also participated
on a panel in McComb,
Mississippi with UF Oral
History’s Dr. Paul Ortiz to
discuss the history of Vot-
ing Rights Acts and its
impact on McComb. Over
Dr. Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons
Page 3 Tradition and Transformation
Faculty Profile
the course of the two days that
they were there (Feb. 21st &
22nd, 2013), Dr. Simmons pre-
sented on her experiences when
she was in McComb during the
height of the 1960’s Civil Rights
Movement and she toured with a
group of High School students
around McComb, who were
studying and documenting on
film the history of the McComb
Civil Rights Movement. These
students completed a documen-
tary on the Movement which won
first place at a recent State-Wide
History Studies contest, which
will be entered in the National
History Studies contest, being
held in Baltimore Maryland in
April 2013.Reflecting on the
vaunted task of registering voters
in that area, Dr. Simmons states
“To have spent two days with
dozens of children from the
McComb School District sharing
their city and county's Civil
Rights History side by side with
the local people who had made
that history was an immensely
gratifying experience.”
By Vincent Adejumo
Stanley Nelson, Dr. Gwendolyn Zohorrah Simmons, and
Cyndee Readden
Dr. Gwendolyn Zoharrah Simmons,
Senior Lecturer in African American Studies and Religion and an affiliated faculty in the Women’s Studies
Department
Dr. Faye Harrison was featured in Jack-
sonville, Florida’s Museum of Science
and History’s “MOSH after Dark” lec-
ture series on February 28. The regis-
tration for the lecture, “Race in the New
Millennium and the Age of Obama,”
exceeded the number of available seats
in the Planetarium, reflecting the high
level of interest in the topic and the
exhibit that the museum is hosting over
a three-month period ending on April
28. “Race: Are We So Different?” is an
award-winning exhibit that has been
traveling around the country since
2007. The American Anthropological
Association initiated the interdiscipli-
nary public education project to make
scholarly knowledge on race and racism
accessible to the public. Dr. Harrison
was among the small group of anthro-
pologists who went from brainstorming
to proposals that generated about $1.5
million of funding from the National
Science Foundation and the Ford Foun-
dation. The 5,000 square feet exhibit
approaches race through the lenses of
history, human variation, and lived
experience. Dr. Harrison’s lecture fo-
cused on the dynamics of culture,
power, and political economy that have
shaped the structural locations and iden-
tities of racially-marked people, primar-
ily African descendants in the United
States and in other parts of the Ameri-
cas.
Dr. Harrison also organized and pre-
sented a paper in the session, “Black
Studies and Anthropology in Dialogue,”
for the National Council for Black Stud-
ies meeting in Indianapolis, Indi-
ana; March 14-16. The session,
which integrated multi-media for-
mats, generated excellent discus-
sion. In early April, she will de-
liver a lecture at the University of
Texas at Austin on feminisms and
the politics of knowledge in the
African diaspora.
at the White House with the President
of the United States, Barack H.
Obama. Dr. Thomas-Houston, who
joined other dignitaries, was invited to
attend the observance on February
27th in her capacity as Senior Editor of Dr. Marilyn M. Thomas
Houston, Associate Professor
of the African American
Studies and Anthropology at
the University of Florida and
1997 NYU alumna, cele-
brated Black History Month
the ground breaking new
journal FIRE!!!: The Multi-
media Journal of Black
Studies. The first of its kind
in Black Studies, the digital
journal is published by the
Association for the Study of
African American Life and
History (ASALH), founders
of Black History Month,
and distributed through
JSTOR.
Dr. Faye Harrison
Dr. Marilyn Thomas-Houston
Faculty Profile
By Mcclaurinsolutions Dr. Marilyn Thomas-
Houston with Attorney General
Eric Holder
Drs. Melissa Hargrove and Faye Harrison with MOSH Executive Director, Maria Han
Page 4
In January the AFA-
2000-Introduction to
African American Stud-
ies class visited the His-
toric Haile Homestead
at Kanapaha Plantation
(HHH). The field trip
was meant to enhance
course lectures address-
ing the history of en-
slavement of Black
people in North Amer-
ica. The Kanapaha
Plantation, was a 1500
acre cotton plantation
and the 6200 square
foot home, completed
by Black artisans in
1856, is one of the old-
est homes in Gaines-
ville/Alachua County
and one of a few ante-
bellum homes still
standing in Florida. It
is located less than 8
miles from the Univer-
sity of Florida.
The field trip
allowed AFA-2000 stu-
dents to contextualize
the historical informa-
tion about the enslave-
ment of Black people.
It is one thing to read
and hear about history,
and quite another to
visit a space where peo-
ple were held against
their will and forced to
labor for the benefit of
others. Alachua
County had the 7th
largest number of en-
slaved Africans in the
state of Florida and de-
scendents of both the
enslaved laborers and
plantation owners still
live in the county.
Nii and Ayoka
SowaLa of Ayoka Gifts
joined 53 students who
went on the field trip.
Mr. SowaLa played his
drum in the bus on the
way to the site and
poured a libation to in
memory of the enslaved
laborers who lived,
worked and died at the
plantation. Karen Kirk-
man, director of the
HHH, led a guided tour
of the house that in-
cluded a photo exhibit
with information about the enslaved laborers.
Students shared their observations about
the experience in response papers. Most ex-
pressed surprise that a plantation with enslaved
laborers existed in a place so close to campus.
Students were also interested in learning more
about the lives of the Africans who were en-
slaved on the plantation.
Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn: Haile Homestead
Page 5 Tradition and Transformation
Faculty Profile
(Students for a circle as Nii Sowa La pours a libation before the tour)
Asa G. Hilliard, III, Ed.D. Baf-
four Amankwatia, II (1933-
2007) Dr. Hilliard was a master teacher
and multi-disciplinarian who made
contributions in Education, Psychol-
ogy, Sociology and African/African
Diaspora History. He did not teach
in an “African American Studies”
department, but his work uncovering
and presenting data on ancient Afri-
can civilizations, particularly in the
Nile Valley, was significant. He
also influenced the fields of Black
Psychology and Education, particu-
larly assuring effective pedagogy for
training teachers to raise achieve-
ment in diverse populations. Dr. Hil-
liard taught on the faculty at San
Francisco State University before
serving as a consultant to the Peace
Corp for on site staff development
of volunteers in Liberia, West Af-
rica. While in Liberia, he also
served as a school psychologist, the
Chief of Party for the San Francisco
State advisory team and Superinten-
dent of Schools in Monrovia. Upon
his return to San Francisco State
University, he became a Department
Chair and then the Dean of the
School of Education. He later
served as the Fuller E. Calloway
Professor of Urban Education at
Georgia State University in Atlanta
where he held joint appointments
in the Department of Educational
Policy Studies and the Department
of Educational Psychology and
Special Education. Dr. Hilliard has
made thousands of professional
presentations for school districts,
universities, professional and com-
munity based organizations, busi-
nesses, and government agencies
in the areas of socialization, teach-
ing, learning, testing, assessment
systems, child development, Afri-
can and African American history,
African content in curriculum, anti
-racism, public policy and culture.
Dr. Hilliard was a Board Certified
Forensic Examiner and Diplomat
of both the American Board of Fo-
rensic Examiners and the Ameri-
can Board of Forensic Medicine.
He served as lead expert witness in
several landmark federal cases on
test validity and bias, including
Larry P. v. Wilson Riles in Califor-
nia, Mattie T. v. Holliday in Mis-
sissippi, Deborah P. v. Turlington
in Florida, and also in two Su-
preme Court cases, Ayers v. Ford-
ice in Mississippi, and Marino v.
Ortiz in New York City. Dr. Hil-
liard has authored over 1000 jour-
nal articles, chapters in books,
magazine articles, and books some
of which include, The Maroon
Within Us: Selected Essays on Af-
rican American Community So-
cialization (1995), Black Classics
Press; SBA: The Reawakening of
the African Mind (1997), Makare;
and African Power: Affirming Afri-
can Indigenous Socialization in the
Face of the Culture Wars (2002),
Makare. His popular slide
show, Free Your Mind Return to
the Source: African Origins of
Civilization has been presented
around the world. Some of the
many awards that Hilliard re-
ceived includee: Morehouse
College "Candle in the Dark
Award in Education;" National
Alliance of Black School Edu-
cators "Distinguished Educator
Award;" American Evaluation
Association President's Award;
Republic of Liberia Award as
Knight Commander of the Hu-
mane Order of African Redemp-
tion; New York Society of
Clinical Psychologists Award
for Outstanding Research,
Scholarly Achievement, and
Humanitarian Service; Associa-
tion of Black Psychologists Dis-
tinguished Psychologist Award;
Association of Teacher Educa-
tors Distinguished Leadership
Award; DePaul University Doc-
tor of Humane Letters; Ameri-
can Psychological Association,
Fellow; Kappa Delta Pi Honor
Society Laureate Chapter;
American Educational Research
Association Committee on the
Role & Status of Minorities in
Education, Research & Devel-
opment Distinguished Career
Contribution Award. His chap-
ter, “Race,” Identity, Hegemony
and Education: What Do We
Need To Know Now? in The
White Architects of Black Edu-
cation: 1865-1945 (2001), Wil-
liam H. Watkins, Ed. outlines
his view of the systematic op-
pression of Africans via the edu-
cation system and strategies for
resistance.
Dr. Asa G. Hilliard (1933-2007) Faculty Profile
Page 6
On Thursday February
21st at the Friends of
Music Room, Dr. Marc
Lamont Hill lectured on
“Black Men in the age
of Obama”. His lecture
was for the annual
Dr. Ronald C.
Foreman Honorary
event and was part
of “The Education
and Identity of Af-
rican-American Males Con-
ference” which started on
February 19th and con-
cluded with the Dr. Marc
Lamont Hill’s lecture on the
21st. Some of the issues that
Dr. Hill covered in his talk
include the incarceration
rates of black males, black
male high school dropout
rate, black male masculinity,
and the implication of Presi-
dent Obama’s election as it
relates to the perception of
black males in the United
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, AFAM Foreman Lecture Recap
Page 7 Tradition and Transformation
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, on January 29th, spoke about the life, work, and
impact of the late, great Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. (MLK). The speech
which served as a commemoration of
Martin Luther King day, and simultane-
ously as an opener for Black History Month, highlighted the speakers' views
on how the past and current socioeco-
nomic conditions have impacted and shaped the racial, and ethnic situation in
America. Throughout the speech, he
constantly made reference to the work that Dr. King Jr. did when he was alive
and how important it is for us to adhere
to MLK's views in our lives. After announcing the title of the presentation
as "Living the Legacy of An American
Radical," Dr. Dyson went on analyze what it meant to be a "radical” and also
"living the legacy." He referred to MLK
as a "radical" because he went to the
foundation of American ideals of free-
dom and advocated the best ideas that
would relieve the suppressed, while being strongly invested in democracy.
"Living the Legacy" meant that it was not enough to study the life and work of
Martin Luther King Jr., but we should
live the life of the legend that MLK was. We cannot limit Martin Luther
King Jr. to the "I Have A Dream"
speech because that is not all he did. After the passage of the Civil Rights
Acts in 1964 and 1965, people thought
that it was over, but MLK made it known that that was the easy part and
now the nation has to now attack poverty; however, this is not the
MLK that we celebrate presently
today. The five years between the
speech and his death, he organized
the “Poor People’s campaign”.
After making this point Dr. Dyson asked the question of “why do we
define our American identity by
how many guns we have? And then we go on to blame violence on
games and hip-hop. American
ideology continues to contradict itself”. Martin Luther King Jr. dealt
with what Dr. Dyson referred to as
the "Three Evils." The three were racism, nepotism, and poverty. Dr.
King fought against these issues,
but society still struggles with them
today. Dr. Dyson exclaimed that it is expensive to be poor. People act
as if poor people are from some
other planet, and often categorize
them as lazy and unmotivated,
when poor people work two to
three jobs just to make ends meet. They do jobs that no one else want
to do, so they are not stealing jobs
as often mentioned by conservative law makers that despise the poor.
Working so many jobs keep them
away from their children because they do not have to time to nurture
them. They have to focus on where
to get the next dollar from to keep the food on the table. The issues of
jobs bring up the point of gender
inequality. Dr. Dyson asks the
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, BGSO MLK Lecture Recap
question of “Why is it that men
and women are not paid equally?
There is nothing a man can do
that woman cannot, so some reform needs to take place in that
area to bring about equality
amongst genders”. Dr. Dyson's presentation was one of the most
interesting, and captivating
speeches I have ever heard on the life on the work of Dr. King. The
clever use of popular music and
current affairs kept his audience of mostly students and youth
attentive to his challenge, which
was for us to live our lives similar to Martin Luther King Jr. It was
not a presentation to be forgotten
the minute you left the venue, but
it plagued the mind to continue
fighting against inequality, pov-
erty, injustice, among other issues that America faces. Social ine-
quality, racial inequality, vicious
forms of patriarchy in our coun-try, gender distress are all issues
that if we are going to live the Martin Luther King Jr. dream, we
have to actively fight and speak
up against these issues. "Living the Legacy of an American Radi-
cal," is not just studying the
works of Dr. King, but also living
it daily.
By Richard Minott
States and globally.
The event was well
attended with every
seat in the Friends of
Music Room filled
and concluded with a
brief question and an-
swer session.
Page 7
Page 8 UF Intersections
In the alumni corner, the
African American Studies
Program spotlights our
former students and gives
updates about their cur-
rent endeavors. This se-
mester, we are highlight-
ing Ms. Brittany McCants.
In 2008, Brittany gradu-
ated with a Bachelor of
Arts in Political Science
and a minor in Leadership
and African American
Studies. Brittany received
several honors and
awards as an undergradu-
ate at the University of
Florida. In addition to
Florida Blue Key she
served in the Student
Government Senate, as a
member of the 2006 Pre-
view Staff, on the J.
Wayne Reitz Union Board
of Managers, on the Presi-
dent of the College of
Liberal Arts & Sciences
Student Council, as a
founding member of Lead
UF, and as a member of
the Lambda Psi chapter of
Delta Sigma Theta Soror-
ity, Inc. In May 2011, Brit-
tany earned a Juris Doc-
tor cum laude from the
Howard University School
of Law. Currently, she is
a Corporate Associate for
Simpson Thacher & Bart-
lett, LLP in New York
City where she drafts
transaction and ancillary
agreements in relation to
securities offerings,
merger transactions and
employment agreements.
She also conducts other
corporate research. “My
coursework in the African
American studies program
gave me a deeper insight
into my own cultural posi-
tion in the world and a
clearer understanding of
our contributions to soci-
ety as a whole. As a well
versed scholar in the Afri-
can Diaspora from my
experiences with the pro-
gram, I’m able to think
critically about the images
and presentation of Afri-
can Americans and work
to shift closed mindsets in
my surroundings. I feel
like the rich curriculum
gave me a sense of pride,
pushed me to explore my
cultural boundaries and
granted me a coat of ar-
mor to enter the work-
place both through devel-
oping my skill set and per-
sonal development. It
would be my wish that
the program continues to
expand and students con-
tinue to be exposed to
African American history
and culture.”
Alumni Spotlight: Attorney Brittany Mccants
Introduction to African American Studies: Online
ally. Some of the technologi-
cal tools that will be used to
engage students include
messageboards, various so-
cial media, youtube, and
skype. Students can register
for this class beginning on
March 25th and search for
the class under the African
American Studies Summer
2013 schedule of courses at
http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/
soc/ . In addition to creating
the online format for the
Intro to African American
studies class, I am also a
recipient of the 2013 Bar-
bara Roth Award given by
the UF Department of
Political Science for my
service to the Gainesville
community and academic
excellence in the class-
room. I am honored to
have received such a pres-
tigious award and it is my
mission for the upcoming
Summer and Fall semester
as lecturer of the Intro to
African American Studies
class to ensure that stu-
dents are not only suc-
cessful in completing the
course, but also have a
better understanding of
the black experience from
Greeting’s, my name is Vin-
cent Adejumo and I am a 2nd
year Ph.D student in the
Department of Political Sci-
ence and graduate assistant
to Dr. Sharon Austin. I am
excited to teach the online
format of the Intro to Afri-
can American Studies class.
The first class will be of-
fered in summer session C
and subsequently in the Fall
2013 semester. The sum-
mer session C class will be
10 weeks long and consist
of intense learning and dis-
cussion of the Black experi-
ence in America and glob-
“My coursework in
the African
American studies
program gave me a
deeper insight into
my own cultural
position in the
world and a clearer
understanding of
our contributions to
society as a whole.”
Attorney Brittany
McCants
Corporate Associate
for Simpson Thacher
& Bartlett, LLP
before they completed the
course. For more information
regarding the course or the
African American Studies Pro-
gram, please do not hesitate to
contact me at vadeju-
On March 20th, the Center
for the Study of Race and
Race Relations’ hosted its
10th annual Spring Lec-
ture & Panel Discussions,
“At Close Range: The Cu-
rious Case of Trayvon
Martin.” They keynote
speaker for this event was
New York Times visual
op-ed columnist Charles
Blow.
Participants in-
cluded UF faculty
and graduate stu-
dents from history,
journalism, African-
American studies,
sociology, anthro-
pology, law, educa-
tion, political sci-
ence, English, phi-
losophy and health
services research.
They discussed a
range of topics in-
cluding racial bias
and media perspec-
tives and recom-
mended policy
changes.
Blow joined The
New York Times in
1994 as a graphics
editor and quickly
became the paper’s
graphics director, a
position he held for
nine years. Blow
then went on to be-
come the paper’s design director for news be-
fore leaving in 2006 to become the art director
of National Geographic Magazine.
He often appears on CNN’s Piers Morgan To-
night, Starting Point and AC360. He has also
appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the Last
Word with Lawrence O’Donnell and Hardball
with Chris Matthews, Headline News’ The
Joy Behar show, Fox News’ Fox and Friends,
the BBC and Al Jazeera, as well as numerous
radio programs.
current efforts to attract minority
students and faculty, the integration
of graduate and law schools, and the
problems that remain for students of
color on campus. Also, Dr. Patricia
Hilliard-Nunn gave the introduction
for her riveting short film, “First
Footsteps: The Struggle for Racial
Desegregation at UF.” It provided a
visual account of the efforts to inte-
grate the university beginning with a
lawsuit by Virgil Hawkins that ulti-
mately resulted in the desegregation
of the university’s graduate pro-
grams, and the experiences of W.
On January 25, 2013, the African
American Studies Program sponsored a
panel discussion entitled "The Integra-
tion of the University of Florida and the
Challenges that Remain." Approxi-
mately 80 students, faculty, and staff
attended the event that was held during
the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebra-
tion Week. Dr. Sharon Austin, Director
of the African American Studies Pro-
gram; Dr. Eric Castillo, Director of the
Institute for Hispanic/Latino Cultures;
and Ms. Leah Villanueva, Director of
Asian Pacific Islander Affairs discussed
the historical efforts to integrate UF,
George Allen as the university’s first
African American student.
10th Annual Center for Race Relations Spring Lecture
African American Studies Program Honors the Memory of MLK Jr.
Page 9 UF Intersections
Mr. Virgil Hawkins at Levin College
of Law
The Institute for Black Culture hosted
the 11th Annual Dr. James E. Scott Black
Student Leadership Conference on Feb-
ruary 2, 2013. Since 2002, students,
faculty, and staff have participated in
this conference by giving a number of
presentations to UF students. The main
purpose of the conference is to improve
their leadership skills, but the confer-
ence also give students the opportunity
to interact with faculty, staff, graduate,
and law students. Dr. Sharon Austin
and Vincent Adejumo represented the
African American Studies Program on a
panel that advised students about the
graduate and law school process.
The conference is named after Dr.
James E. Scott, a native of Albion,
Michigan, who served as Vice President
for Student Affairs at the University of
Florida for several years before his un-
timely death in 2003. Scott first came
to UF in 1981 as Dean of Students and
held this position for 12 years. After
working in Georgia for a brief time, he
returned to UF in 1999 and served as
Vice President for Student Affairs. Dr.
Scott was an excellent mentor and a friend
to all he met. He also counseled students
and served as a role model during one of the
most difficult periods in the university’s
history - the 1990 murders of five local
college students, four of whom were en-
rolled at UF.
Dr. Scott received a bachelor’s degree in
history and a master’s degree in guidance
from Eastern Michigan University. He later
earned a doctorate in higher education from
the University of Michigan and was a post-
doctoral fellow at Harvard University.
If you would like to honor his memory and
legacy, you can contribute to the James E.
Scott Professional Development Fellowship
at the University of Florida. For more in-formation, see http://www.ufsa.ufl.edu/
news/comments/
james_e._scott_professional_development
_fellowship_application_now_availabl
On Thursday March 21st 3:30 PM, the University of Florida Board of Trustees approved the African American Studies Program to officially
allow students to MAJOR in African American Studies. Congrats to the Faculty and Staff in the program who were essential in getting the
Major approved!!! For more information regarding the major, please contact Dr. Sharon Austin Director of the program at [email protected].
Pictured here are Dr. Austin along with the students that were at the Board of Trustees meeting after the major was approved.
African-American Studies co-sponsors James E. Scott Leadership Conference
UF Board of Trustees Approve African American Studies Major
Page 10 Tradition and Transformation
Page 11 Tradition and Transformation
Introducing Ms. Vee Smith
Unsung Heroines
In January 2013, Ms. Veleashia (Vee)
Smith became the new Director of the Insti-
tute for Black Culture (IBC). Vee earned a
Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the
University of Kentucky at Lexington and
will earn a Master of Arts in Education and
Counseling from Western Kentucky Uni-
versity in 2014. Before joining us at UF,
Vee worked as the Assistant Director of
Student Development in the Office of Di-
versity Programs at Western Kentucky Uni-
versity. She also previously worked at Di-
rector of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Cul-
tural Center (MLKCC) at the University of
Kentucky. Vee has won many awards dur-
ing her professional career such as the Uni-
versity of Kentucky Evelyn J. Black Staff
of the Year Award in 2008, the Vanderbilt
University Staff of the Year Award, and the
University of Kentucky’s President’s
Award for Diversity in 2004 and 2008. Be-
cause of her outstanding record of service
and her commitment to diversity, the uni-
versity is optimistic that she will serve in an
excellent manner as Director of the IBC. In
February 2013, Vee organized the 2013
James E. Scott Leadership Conference.
Each year, this conference provides student
leaders with knowledge and skills that can
help them become more effective leaders on
campus and beyond through several interac-
tive workshops, discussions, presentations
and guest speakers.
Also, under her leadership, the IBC
recently honored “Unsung Heroines”
Dr. Angeleah Browdy, Dr. Patricia
Hilliard-Nunn, Dr. Sharon Austin, Dr.
Brandi Pritchett-Johnson, Mrs. Tarena
Stanley, Ms. LaToya Hunter, Ms. Bre-
anne Palmer, Ms. Monya Sharp, and
Mrs. Ruby Mae Moore
(posthumously). These women were
honored because of the positive exam-
ples they set at the University of Flor-
ida as women of color.
Ms. Vee Smith IBC Director
From Left to Right: Ms. Latoya Hunther, Mr. Johnny Moore (Ms. Ruby Mae Moore’s Husband), Dr. Ange-
leah Browdy, Mrs. Tarena Stanley, Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, Dr. Brandi Pritchett-Johnson, and Dr.
Sharon Austin
Dr. James Davidson
Kingsley Plantation: Occupied by circa
1792, this plantation derives its name from
Zephaniah Kingsley, who occupied the site
between 1814 and 1839. Kingsley was a
slave trader and ship’s captain. Defying
convention, he took as a wife Anna
Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an enslaved girl
from Senegal. Objecting to the harsh laws
regarding interracial marriage and biracial
children when Florida became American
territory, Kingsley and his family moved to
Haiti in 1839. The plantation was subse-
quently owned by a number of individuals
into the early 20th century. The entire field of
African-American archaeology can actually
trace its origin back to Kingsley Plantation,
where in 1968 Dr. Charles Fairbanks (former
professor at UF) conducted the first-ever
scientific excavation of a slave cabin.
Excavations have been conducted in slave
Cabins W-12, W-13, W-15, and E-
10. Through archival and archaeological
data, it was established that the west cabins
were occupied between 1814 and 1839, or
only during Zephaniah Kingsley’s occupa-
tion of the island. Cabin E-10 was occupied
from circa 1814 to the beginning of the
Civil War. Amazing finds include French
gun flints (from flintlock pistols and mus-
kets) and lead shot in the cabins, and a
chicken sacrifice and deliberate burial of the
remains beneath the floor of Cabin W-15,
presumably as part of an African religious
ritual. We have also uncovered previously
unknown or "lost structures," including
cottages along Cedar Avenue destroyed in
the 1850s or 1860s, and the Sugar
Mill, an octagonal, tabby-walled
industrial complex not seen since the
1880s. In 2010 and 2011 we discov-
ered and excavated previously un-
known water well associated with the
slave cabins, and found the long
lost Kingsley-era African Burial
Ground. In 2012, we began an
exploration of the greater yard areas
of the west cabins, excavated at the
Tabby Barn to determine its origin
and chronology, and conducted the
first steps in a greater exploration of
the yard associated with the detached
Kitchen House, otherwise known
as the Anna Kingsley House. 2013
Research goals: Building on the 2012
excavations, we plan to archaeologically
explore the yards of Cabins W-14 and w-
15, and more fully explore Anna
Kingsley's House and yard.
Dr. James Davidson, Associate Professor of
Anthropology and African-American Studies
Tradition and Transformation
2013 Black Male Conference Highlights
Summer 2013 AFAM Schedule
Summer A
Course CF Sect Cred Day(s) Period Bldg Room Course Title & Textbook(s) Instructor
AFA 4905 03BH 3 TBA KINGSLEY FIELD SCHOOL STAFF
Summer B
Course CF Sect Cred Day(s) Period Bldg Room Course Title & Textbook(s) Instructor(s)
AFA 2000 4G85 3 MTWRF 3 FAC 0127 INTR AFRICAN AMER STU Nunn,Patricia
Hilliard
Summer C
Course CF Sect Cred Day(s) Period Bldg Room Course Title & Textbook(s) Instructor(s)
AFA 2000 $20.01 7H58 3 WEB INTR AFRICAN AMER STU Adejumo,Vincent
African American Males and the Legal System Panelist Educational Experience of African American Males
Pictures courtesy of
Nathalie Dorthonne
Dr. Faye Harrison Introducing Dr. Marc Lamont Hill Students at the Annual Dr. Ronald C. Foreman Lecture
Page 12
Fall 2013 AFAM Schedule
Page 13 Tradition and Transformation
Course EEP Sect Cred Day(s) Class Per. Bldg Room Course Title &
Textbook(s) Instructor(s) AFA 2000 Y 09E4 3 WEB INTR AFRICAN
AMER STU Adejumo,
Vincent
AFA 2000 Y 5460 3 M W F 3 LIT 0235 INTR AFRICAN
AMER STU Nunn,Patricia
Hilliard
AFA 3110 Y 087A 3 T 7 FAC 0120 AFR AM/BLK ATLN
THGHT Harrison,
Faye V
R 7-8 FAC 0120
AFA 3360 Y 5276 3 M W F 3 TUR 2333 ARC AFRICAN-
AMER LIFE Davidson,
James M
AFA 3930 Y 0317 3 T 8-9 TUR 2353 BLKS IN FILMS:
ETHNO Thomas-
Houston,
Marilyn M
R 9 TUR 2353
AFA 3930 Y 0622 3 M 3-5 TUR 2336 AFRICAN AMER LIT
1 King,Debra
Walker
AFA 3930 Y 1A20 3 M W F 4 LIT 0223 POLITICS OF BLK
HAIR Nunn,Patricia
Hilliard
AFA 3930 Y 1G76 3 M W F 9 WM 0100 GEOGRAPHY OF
AFRICA Mcdade-Gordon,
Barbara Eliza-
beth
AFA 3930 Y 2452 3 T 4 MAT 0002 CIVIL RGHT &
RELIGION Smons,
Gwendolyn
Delores
R 4-5 MAT 0013
AFA 3930 Y 3321 3 T 5-6 LIT 0233 AFRICAN AMER
POLITICS Austin,Sharon
Denise
R 6 LIT 0237
AFA 4905 DEPT 1 TBA INDEPENDENT
STUDY STAFF
AFA 4931 064A 3 W 9-11 MAT 0004 RACE LAW AND
HEALTH Jenkins,
Kevin A
AFA 4931 096G 3 T 2-3 WEIM 1076 PAN AFRICANISM Dunnavant,
Justin P
R 3 WEIM 1076
AFA 4936 Y 5281 3 M 6-8 CBD 0224 AFRICAN-AM SEN
SEM 1 Nunn,Patricia
Hilliard
Opportunity Corner
Page 14 UF Intersections
The Council on Legal Education Opportunity
(CLEO) has a Six-Week Pre-Law Summer
Institute that prepares recent college graduates
for law school. In June and July of each year,
the program takes place at two law schools. In
2013, University of Mississippi and Georgia
State University will host the 2013 CLEO
Scholars. Each year, the deadline is February
15th.
CLEO recruits students from diverse and/or
economically disadvantaged backgrounds who
plan to apply to law school in the near future.
Most of the participants will begin the applica-
tion process during the fall after their summer
program ends. CLEO also has a Sophomore
Summer Institute for students who have com-
pleted their sophomore year of
college and would like to receive
additional preparation for law
school. In addition, it conducts
several academic seminars which
provide instruction about the
LSAT, law school process, finan-
cial aid, etc.
In order to be selected for the 6
week institute, applicants must be
able to meet eligibility require-
ments for an ABA-approved law
school at the completion of the
program. They must also have
obtained a bachelor’s degree from
an accredited college or university
prior to the start of the summer in-
stitute. Third, they must submit a
personal statement that explains
why they wish to be selected and
must pay a nonrefundable $30 ap-
plication fee. For more informa-
tion, see www.cleoscholars.com or
email the CLEO Admissions Ad-
ministrator Bernetta Hayes at Ber-
Opportunity Corner
Support the African American Studies Program
Page 15 UF Intersections
The African American Studies Program at the University of Florida depends upon gifts from alumni and friends to fund
student and faculty travel, research, and lecture series. If you would like to support the program, please consider making
your gift today. The University of Florida Foundation, Inc. is the steward of all private support of the University of Florida. You can give online to The African American Studies Program Fund which makes it possible for the program to engage in
extracurricular activities that promote community building and public programming. Private sources of funding increase
our capacity for creating a supportive environment for interactions among students, faculty, and the wider commu-
nity. Designate African American Studies account F008477. One way to offer a specific contribution is to support the Harry Shaw Travel Fund which will make it possible for students
to travel for research and conference presentations. Designate African American Studies and list F016689 to build this ac-
count. The James Haskins Visiting Scholar Fellowship Endowment Fund honors the memory of the late James Haskins (1941-
2005), a former University of Florida Professor of English and a distinguished writer who interpreted the African Ameri-
can experience. In well over 100 books, he exposed children and youth readers to the biographies of leading African
Americans and key aspects of Black culture, social history, and contemporary life. The scope of his writings also extended
beyond Black America to other parts of the world. The James Haskins Visiting Scholar Fellowship Endowment Fund pro-
vides the critical resources needed to enable African American Studies to host emerging and established scholars with re-
search interests that complement some aspect of the scholarly agenda of faculty within the program. The African American
Studies account code to build this fund is F013759/013760. You may also make a gift of cash, appreciated stocks and bonds, real estate, and through various planned giving opportu-
nities through the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences Development and Alumni Affairs office. For more information,
please contact Christy Popwell, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs (352) 215-5636 or [email protected] Thank you for supporting our stability and growth!
Purchase your University of Florida African-American Studies Program T-Shirt Today
The African-American Studies Program is now selling T-Shirts! T-Shirts are 15$ and are available for purchase at 104
Walker Hall between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Shirts can be purchased via cash or check. The check can be
made to UF African American Studies Program. We will also be at the Multicultural Recruitment Fair on April 3rd from
10-2 in the Reitz Union Colonnade selling shirts and distributing more information regarding the newly approved Major.